Heater for auto engines



July l2, 1949. s. RoNNlNG 2,475,989

HEATER FOR` AUTO ENGINES Filed April 24, 1947 FIG. l FIG. 2

ATTORNEY Patented July 12, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEATER FR AUTO ENGINES Sverre Running, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application April 24, 1947, Serial No. 743,555

4 Claims. l

This invention is an improvement in heaters and especially -a heater` comprising a suitable casing with a heating element therein and means for attaching the heater, in direct contact with the object to be treated.

An important `object oi the invention is to nrou vide a heater Iof the electric type for the engine of a motor vehicle, having means for securing it to the exterior of said engine in position to warm the oil therein, and a suitable connection for supplying it with current from the circuit of the garage where the vehicle is housed,

rlhe invention is quite useful in the wintry season of the year when the oil in the engine of a motor car or truck becomes thick and heavy if the vehicle is exposed to a low temperature, and thus starting becomes diicult vand imposes a heavy load on the lalready weakened storage hatltery of the vehicle. Thus if a car stands motionless overnight in a cold garage the owner may nd himself unable to set the engine revolving when he wishes to run the car the next day. By my improvement this inconvenience is nullied, because in the garage the circuit connection .can be instantly plugged into an ordinary electrical outlet to operate the heater and prevent the overcooling of the car during the night; the heater eing secured permanently to the engine by means of clamps, so that it does not have to be dismounted at any time. The owner can. at once get the engine into rotation; then he merely pulls out the plug of the connecting cord from the supply socket, coils up the cord and stows it in any suitable manner in any convenient place such as under the hood of the engine; and the car is ready to move out under its own power.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple design of electric heater that is inexpensive to produce, easy to mount, and eiiicient and cheap in operation.

The invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification. The construction shown, however, is only one embodiment of the improvement; and alterations may -be adopted without exceeding the broad and general meanings of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

On said drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view its engine equipped with this invention.

Figure 2 is a front view thereof.

Figure 3 is a top plan of the heater casing with the top broken away to illustrate the heater member therein.

of a motor car having a heater according to (Cl. 21B-38) 2 Figure 4 is `a cross section on line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an end View of the heater unit with the closure removed; and

Figure 6 presents a detail.

The engine of the motor vehicle is shown at I, mounted on the framework or chassis, part of which is indicated at 2, adjacent the front wheel 3. The heater is enclosed in a casing 4, and is secured against the exterior of the engine by suitu able retaining members or metal straps `5. The casing can be attached to either the side or the bottom of the crank case at the lower part of the engine, this case ordinarily containing most of the cil which lubricates the engine in opera tion. When the car stands idle the Oil collects in the crank case; and in cold weather, loses a great part of its fluidity, interfering greatly with starting. The heater of my invention keeps the crankcase and in some degree the entire engine warm, so that the oil remains thin and easily agiu tated and distributed to all necessary parts of the engine when the starting motor is set into rota tion.

The casing d comprises two sections `I and Ba, each of large extent in comparison to the depth or thickness thereof; each containing a separate compartment; the former comprising top 1, sides B, and ends 9, preferably of metal sheeting, and is filled with heat insulating material I il. The face opposite the closed top l is open and the edges of the top sides and ends adjacent this face are soldered or `welded as at to the section @al The section 6 overlies the section IEid, which houses the heating member I I. The section its and mem-ber Il thus lie between the heatdn-inn sulating section i5 and the engine, and all the heat generated in the member II can be radiated in one direction only, and that is into the engine I.

The section 5a is similar in shape to the secm tion `6 and comprises a top I2, a bottom I3, laid against the engine side M, and a closed end I5, the other end being open. The heating member I I is carried by a removable plate I 6 lying on the top part or partition I2. Upon this plate, aliixed along its lower face is 4a channel-shaped member I'I, forming a long loop-shaped or horseshoeshaped chamber It which contains the heating member Il. This chamber or channel has both its extremities iiush with one another at the end of the plate I6 which is to lie in the open end of the section Iiid; said end -being fitted with a closure I9, the ends of which have holes to receive fastening devices Ztl by which the closure is afxed, when in place, to perforated lugs 2| on the section vfiat. The heating member is a length of coiled wire 22, passed through a number of tubular elements 23, of insulating material, `and constituting an enclosing sleeve. The extremities are affixed lto terminals in two insulating blocks 2,4 at the ends of the chamber l2.

' The blocks 24 are held in position against the surface of the plate l (i by a clamp 25, with downturned ends 25, andv a screw 2l which passes through the clamp 25 between the blocks 24 and through a hole in the plate lli to receive a nut (not shown) on the opposite face, which may have a depression or countersunk seat for a nut. The blocks 24 have bores Z9 in which arer terminals 3Q. A binding screw 3| passes through an opening in one side of each block 24, into a threaded opening in each terminal 3i). The latter also have longitudinal bores 32 to receive the ends of the heater member and the screws 3| pass into the bores 32, making fast both the ends of the heater member and the terminals 3i) in the blocks 2li. The outer extremities of the bores 32 receive the ends of conductors 33, which are secured by additional screws 35'; the conductors 33 being covered with insulation 36, being attached to an ordinary conductor plug, not shown, which its into an outlet connector oi the lighting circuit, Thus the heater is readily supplied with electric current.

The retaining members -or metal clamps '5 (two in number)v comprisethreeparts, one of which 35 has an outturned end with an opening to enable it to be engaged by one of the screws or bolts which gothrcugh the flanges at the junction of the crank case and the body of the engine. This partextends down one side oi the engine and across the bottom to the other side where it has a threaded vend entering a hole in another part 39 of the clamp. A nut [it holds the parts 35 and 3l]` together. or link lihas an opening for the threaded end of the .remaining parte l, which is likewise aflixed to the flanges 39, andto the link 39 by a nut 42. By these clamps the heater casing is securely held againstthe enginewith thesection 6 outermost.

rIhe invention is therefore inexpensive and practical and well calculated to keep anengine warm andinV condition forrquick starting through the coldest nights of winter.`

Having described my invention what I believe to be new is:

l.. A heater comprisinga relativelyV ilat casing of large area in relation to the depth, a heating member in said casing, partitions enclosing said member and defining a bent channel therefor, an insulator block Vadjacent each end of said channel, terminals `in `said blocks, means carried by said terminals to secure the ends of the heating member and supply conductors thereto, and a clamp affiXedin said casing to hold said blocks in place.

At the upper end the part f 2. A heater comprising a relatively flat casing of large area in relation to the depth, a heating member in said casing, partitions enclosing said member and defining a horseshoe-shaped channel therefor, an insulator block adjacent each end of said channel, terminals in said blocks, means carried by said terminals to secure the ends of the heating member and supply conduc tors thereto, and a clamp taffixed insaid casing to hold said blocks in place, the casing having a perforated movable closure through which the conductors pass, adjacent said clamp.

3. A heater comprising a relatively flat casing of large area ln relation to the depth, a heating member in said casing, partitions enclosing said member and deiinng a bent channel therefor, an insulator-.block adjacent each end of said channel, terminals in said blocks, means carried by said terminals to secure the ends of the heating member and supply conductors thereto and a clamp afxed in said casing to hold said blocks in place, the casing having a transverse partition dividing same into chambers, :each of substantially the same area asaforesaid, va supporting plate for the first-named partitions on` one side ci said transverse partition and heat insulating material in the chamber on theopposite side thereof .I

4. A Aheater comprising a relatively` flat casing of large area in relation-to they depth, a heating member in said. caslngzparttions enclosing said member and defininga horseshoeeshaped chan nel therefor', `an -insulatorqblockadjacent each end ofk saidchannel, terminals in said blocks, means Carriedbysaid terminals to secure the ends of the heating member-and, supply conductors thereto, and a clamp affixedY in said casing to hold said blocksin place,- the'casing having a periorated ymovable closure through which the conductors pass, adjacent said clamp, vthe casing having a transversepartition'dividing same into chambers, each ofy substantially the same area as aforesaid, a `supporti-ng plate for the firstnamed partitions ononeY side-bfjsaid transverse partition andv 'heat` insulating material in the cham-beren- -the 1 oppositesidev thereof.

svEaRE *RoNNrNG.

REEnnENoEs crrnn` Thefollowing referenfces are of record in the rile of thlspatentz- UNITED STATES PATENTS Numb er Name Date 1,552,336 Mottlau Sept. l, 1925 1,764,0214 Jackson June 17, 1930 1,781,412 Slichter Nov. 11, 1930 1,794,891 Gerhardtf Mar. 3, 1931 2,160,227 Platt May 30, 1939 

